Agenda item

To receive progress of phase one delivering in 2021/22 and the planned delivery for 2022/2023 to deliver 4,000 affordable homes by 2032; and

formally request the North Tyneside Trading Company Limited and its subsidiaries to consider options to support the Authority’s priorities within the Our North Tyneside Council Plan and increase their delivery of affordable homes and support the reduction of derelict properties.

Cabinet received a report on progress of phase one delivery in 2021/22 and the planned delivery for 2022/23 to deliver 4,000 affordable homes by 2032: and to formally request the North Tyneside Trading Company Limited and its subsidiaries to consider options to support the Authority’s priorities within the Our North Tyneside Council Plan and increase their delivery of affordable homes and support the reduction of derelict properties.

The Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) was approved by Cabinet on the 14 May 2013 and by the end of 2021/22 would have delivered over 1,900 new affordable homes across North Tyneside.  In January 2021, the Mayor and Cabinet set out their policy intentions by increasing the AHP target to 4,000 affordable homes by 2032. This included a new ten-year Authority delivery plan called ‘Supporting the Ambition for the Borough through Housing Growth’ that would see the Authority invest circa £50m and directly deliver an additional 350 new homes.  The ‘Our North Tyneside Plan’ approved by full Council in November 2021, included within it as a priority the delivery by the Authority of “5,000 affordable homes” and a plan to “reduce the number of derelict properties”.  

The need for more affordable housing was clear. The Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) 2014 provided a robust evidence base on the level of housing need within the Borough, including the need for affordable housing.  In addition, the Affordable Housing Needs Assessment tool brings together a range of information (e.g., SHMA, Census data, Market Position Statement, demand from the Authority’s housing register) and was used to assess the type and size of affordable housing needed across the Borough.  The current AHP had been a success, and by end of 2021/22 would have delivered over 1,900 new affordable homes in eight years which constituted a 135% improvement on the ten years prior to the programme starting.

The Authority had an outstanding track record of building high-quality homes with all homes built above the current Decent Homes Standard and Building Regulations, utilising a fabric first approach. Alongside new build development, the Authority also prioritised bringing back long-term empty homes into use as affordable homes. This approach, coupled with the Authority working with private landlords, had been a significant success, with the number of long-term empty properties reducing from 1,326 in January 2019 to 912 in September 2021.  Acting in a strategic enabling role, the Authority had successfully worked with a wide range of partners including Homes England, Registered Providers (RPs) and developers to meet a range of housing needs, including the needs of vulnerable groups. 

North Tyneside Trading Company (Development) Ltd had continued to invest in affordable housing using “Section106” funding the Authority has available. The Company had used a purchasing strategy since 2018, to buy homes in-line with housing need to let at an affordable rent from the open market. This strategy had been successful with the Company now owning 73 affordable homes with firm plans to bring its asset base up to 100 homes in 2022.

The Authority declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and the AHP played an important role in responding to the challenge of reducing carbon emissions. This had included trailing innovative products including solar technology and high levels of insulation. Going forwards, the Authority had committed to ensuring that all new homes built directly by the Authority would utilise a fabric first approach ensuring that all homes were highly insulated and provided high levels of air tightness.  This would support occupants of those homes by providing a high thermal performance and reduce energy consumption.  The Authority would also go further on new build homes by no longer using fossil fuel to heat homes and other innovative technology to reduce carbon emissions.

Phase one of the AHP would see 4,000 affordable homes delivered by 2032 and an indicative programme for delivery was provided in Appendix 3 to the report. This phase would be delivered across several workstreams including directly delivered homes by the Authority, tackling derelict properties, and working in partnership with the North Tyneside Development Company and Registered Providers. The Authority acting in a strategic enabling role would continue to seek a high-level of affordable homes through Section 106 contributions from Private Developers. Details of the progress made in 2021/22 were set out in the report and provided details of the plans for 2022/23. Projected targets for future years were included in Appendix 4 to the report.

Phase two of the AHP would focus on delivering as quickly as possible the remaining 1,000 homes that were currently not within the plan. The successful achievement of phase two, would require innovation and exploration of new ways of delivering homes. The Authority would also be required to work with a wide range of partners and assess a range of potential funding opportunities to support this. 

The Authority would consider options to increase the direct delivery of affordable homes and continue to work in a strategic capacity to ensure that new opportunities from developers were considered.

Windfall sites were identified within the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment that may realise an additional 1,356 homes that were not currently within the Local Plan. These sites had been assessed as having the potential to be developed for residential use but might not have come forward to due viability or planning issues. Whilst it was not possible to accurately predict the level of windfall opportunities that come forward, it was possible to look at historic returns. Since 2016, a total of 436 windfall homes had been delivered at an average of 73 per year. Many of these were on small sites that did not attract a Section 106 contribution. Of the larger sites where Section 106 was required a total of 220 homes were brought forward and it was reasonable to expect a similar number would continue to be delivered that would directly contribute to the 1,000-home target in phase 2.

The HRA ten-year delivery plan in phase one of the AHP made use of currently developable land assets held by the Authority. Therefore, to increase delivery in this area, there would be a requirement to identify new sites or buildings suitable for conversion that can be brought forward. This might require additional resources to purchase or build new schemes and potentially new delivery models and partnerships. It would also be an opportunity to look at Brownfield sites within the borough that maybe suitable to bring forward potentially in conjunction with new delivery models including lease back models or other innovative solutions to funding new affordable homes.

North Tyneside Trading Company was responding to the new policy agenda of the Authority and had produced a new 4-year Business Plan for the consideration of Cabinet that would include an ambition to further increase their stock past 100 affordable homes in the next 4 years and to reinvest all surpluses into the delivery of new affordable homes and tackling derelict properties. 

The Deputy Mayor commented the report recognised the significant progress made todate

delivering affordable homes, it sets our specific plans for the next 12 months along with the

associated delivery plans, and more importantly commits to deliver a new, more ambitious

target, to deliver 5,000 much needed affordable homes across North Tyneside.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to accept the recommendations set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not approve the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) in relation to the delivery of 5,000 affordable homes and the reduction of derelict properties:

(a)  the progress of phase one delivering in 2021/22 and the planned delivery for 2022/23 identified in section 1.5.2 to deliver 4,000 affordable homes by 2032, be noted;

(b)  the North Tyneside Trading Company Limited and its subsidiaries, developers, Registered Providers and Care Providers to consider options, be requested to support the Authority’s priorities within the Our North Tyneside Council Plan and increase their delivery of affordable homes and support the reduction of derelict properties;

(c)   the Director of Environment, Housing and Leisure, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Director of Resources and Director of Law and Governance, be authorised to undertake all necessary steps relating to phase two of the Affordable Homes Plan and to bring forward the emerging plans identified in section 1.5.3 of the report to deliver the additional 1,000 homes required to achieve the target of 5,000 affordable homes; and

(d)  It be agreed to receive an annual report on progress.

(Reason for decision: It will support the delivery of the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s commitments within the Our North Tyneside Plan to deliver more quality affordable homes, reduce the number of derelict properties and support the ambition for North Tyneside to be carbon neutral by 2030.)